Locking mechanism for freight-car doors



March 24, 1931. J. P. WARD ET AL LOCKIG MECHANISM FOR FREIGHT CAR DOORS 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2 9, 1928 March 24, 1931. .JQ P, WARD ET AL 1,797,384

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR FREIGHT CAR DOORS Filed sept. 29,1928 z'sneets-sheet 2 Patented Mm.Y 24, 1931 'JorIN rnfwAnD, or" lomiur-.Ann ROBERT HYDE, ory CLEVELAND HrirGifrsQANn i HARRY :L GREEN, or CLEVELAND, omo

" Locxne MEcHANrsM ronrREIGHr-CAR noons f Application sledfsepremberaegaas; serial No; 309,199. i

`This invention relates to a locking mechanism that is especially adapted for use in connection with Vthe doors'of freight cars and the main object vof the inventionis to provide a locking mechanism of this character which will act automatically to lock the door when thelatter 'is moved toclosed position and which "isprovided also with a pair of indec pendently power 'operatedjmechanisms for 2) door opening; l y

p Af still further object ofthe inventionisto providea locking mechanism ofpthecharacter v described'fwhich incorporates' electrical means 'loireleasing'the lock and which also is provided with manually operable meansfor' rendering the locking mechanism ineffective.

f 'A further'object of the invention is to provide e a 'locking v mechanism for freight car doorsfwhich is compact andrigid in construction' and designed to be mountedin adjacent parts :of the door'and door frame in such a mannerfas not'tolo'fl'e'r obstructions on which objects may catch whenpa'ssing through the yfor releasing the lock and'pressure operated means, eachV of which is independently operated and accessible only to authorized persons'. f f A still further object of the invention is to provide 'a ylocking mechanism of the character 3 'described which `is provided withmeans yfor 'rendering l,the Y locking mechanism ineffective when desired, themanuallyoperable means being so connected with the electrical means as toy break the circuit thereto when the lock- 5 ingmechanism is rendered ineffective,

y Further and more limited objects of the inventionwill appear as the description proceeds and byreference to the accompanying drawingsi in 'which Fig.1 is a view in rear-*elevation disclosing the'locking mechanism attached'to a freight car, 'the freight car door and sidingjbeing shown in dot and dash lines,v

' Fig. v2 is a view partly in ,rear elevation and partly in section disclosing the locking mechanism and means forr operating the same; Fig. 3 is 'a horizontal sectional view of the linev 3--3 of Fig, 2 and Fig. is a vertical sectional viewshowingthe mechanism forconnecting the'fluid pressure operating mechanism with a source of pressure.

l- Referring now to the'drawings, 'the reference character kl designates a car doorwhich isr slidably'mounted onthe sideof a freight car andl abuts against a post 2 forminga part of the'side vof lthe-car. The door, when in closed "position, reposes withink a` Z-bar .3 which isfseicuredl to thefpost 2. The. siding and lining of the car body are secured to the post 2 in a manner well known to those skilled "in the art. The post 2 is mortised or cut-away alongrits frontV sideadjacentthe door opening for the` accommodation o f thelockingy mechanism. Secured to the inner faceof the door 1 is a keeper or latch memberlhavingl an angularly disposed base portion 5 lshaped somewhat like an arrowhead, as shown most clearlyin FigQ.- l

The locking mechanism consists essentially ofanfouter casing 6 which: is shaped in sectionk as shown most clearly in Figs.f2 and .3.

They casingv is preferably made 'ofr sheet metal and hasan opening 7 in one corner i ay to theloeking position. yvirili-,n the door, is move/dito jclosed position, the nose 5 engagesl thenose'portion 9a of the locking head and elevat'e's the same. f After the nose; 5 has entered the locking head 9, the locking head drops ybyjgravit'y with thegnose portion 9?,

disposed tothe rearof or `behind the nose 5 thereby locking the doorin closed position. Carried by thelocking head 9k is an annular stem 10 which extends upwardly. therefrom through an aperture intheend wall of the inner casing 6 andl constitutes the movable core of a solenoid 11. hen-the solenoid 11v is energized, in a manner to be hereinafter described, the stem l0 is attracted and moved upwardly elevating the locking head 9 to such,y aposition that the nose91 will be `dis.-

- spring.

posed above the nose portion 5 of the latch member or keeper 4 and thereby permitting the door to be opened.

This same result may pneumatic means which will now be described. Arranged within the outerk casing 6 and disposed above the solenoid 11 is a power cylinder 12 which'is supported on a base member 13. Carried bythe base member 13 is a stationary sleeve 14 through which extends arstem 15 which is connected at'its lower end with the stem 10. Arranged with-y in the cylinder 12 and surrounding the sleeve 14 is a piston 16 havinga tubular sleeve or collar 17 which extends upwardly therefrom and projects throughthe upper'end of the cylinder, as shown mostV clearly in Fig. 2. The piston 16 is normally urged downwardly by a coil spring 18. The base member 1'3 has a port or `passageway therein in which is connected a pipe or connection'18a through 'which fluid pressure may be admitted to elevate the'piston against the tension of the coil Carried by the upper end of the stem 15 is a disk 19. vated the collar17 which is rigid therewith, will also be movedV upwardly and'will strike against the disk 19 and move vthe stem 15 upwardly and thus move the locking head 9 upwardly thereby releasing the latching member 4. Thercoil spring 14 will returnrthe piston to its original position'when the pressure is relieved. j 1

Current is supplied tok the solenoid 11 through a cable 2O and pressure is conveyed tothe pipe 18a and cylinder 12 by means 'of a pipe 21. Mounted on the carv body in any convenient place is a terminal plate 22 having an openingtherein in which is arranged a boX or housing 23, the'ront of which is closed by a pivotally mounted door or cover 24. Secured within the boX 23 is terminal blockV or connection 25 to which the pipe 21 is connected. The terminal block 25 has a bore or passageway therein whereby a hose coupling lmay beconnected therewith to supply fluid pressure yto the power cylinder, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. Also arranged within the vboX 23 isa terminal block or jack 26 of well known construction and having binding posts to which the wires-leading to the solenoid are connected. The terminal block 26 also carries a switch '27 for openingv or closing the circuit to the solenoid in a manner to be hereinafter described. y

Slidably mounted on the plate 22 is a latch or bar 28 on which is mounted a pair of arms 29 and 30 which are disposed on opposite sides of the jack 26, as shown in Fig. 2. Also carried by the latch 28 is an operating lever 31 which projects into the box. One vend of the latch 28 projects through aligned openings in the inner and outer casings and is urged toward the left as seen in Fig. 2 by a tension springV 32. The latch 28 engages be vobtained by a When the piston is Veleopened.

under the locking head and holds the same in the elevated position and maintains the locking mechanism ineffective. When it is desired to lock the door in closed position, the latch 28 is moved toward the right, as seen in Fig. 2, whereupon the arm 29 engages the switch 27 and actuates the same to close the circuit to the electrical means for releasing the lock, the latch 28 then riding on the vertical side of the locking headv as shown'vin Fig. Y1 in dotted lines. When it is desired to open the car, the cover 24 is opened and, if the operator uses theelectrical means for operating the lock, heplugs into the terminal block or jack 26 and as the switch 27 is in a positionclosing `the circuit, the solenoid-will be energized andelevate the locking head to release the latch member 4. The latch 28 will then be moved to the position .shown in Fig. 2 whereupon the arm 30 will engage the switch 27 and move the `same toward the left and break the circuit to the solenoid. The electric current for operating the lock may be obtained from any suitable source. Y Y

Then the lock is to be operated by the pressure fluid, the pressure i-s supplied from the usual compressed air supply generally found at railroad terminals, or rom the train line. The operator -merely connects the pressure Aline nozzle 25v into the terminal block or connection 25 as shown vin Fig. 4, whereupon pressure'is supplied to the pressure cylinder which operates as hereinbeforev described. `When the car is moved into a siding, the latch 28 may be moyedto the position'shown in Fig. 2 thereby rendering the locking mechanism ineifective. {After the car door hasfbeen locked, the cover 24 may be closed and sealed or locked in the usual manner. In order to prevent the lock from being released by unauthorized persons, the pressure'line 21 is provided with a vent 33 which is 'of such size that considerablepressure is .necessary to lift the piston in the powercylinder the vent being always open thereby rendering it impossible for -an unauthorized person to release the lock by means of va small air pump. The parts .are so designed that a pressure of between seventy and eighty pounds necessary to lift Vthe piston in the power cylinder. It is of course .understood that the locking mechanism `is all enclosed `within the wall structure of the ycar and is accessible only the cover 24 is Various changes may be made in the details of constructionfand arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritl of our invention and it is understoodthat the invention is limited only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims. It will now be clear that we have provided a locking mechanism of the character described which will accomplishV the objects of the invention as hereinbefore stated.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

l. A locking mechanism of the character described comprising a casing having an opening in the side, a locking. head slidably mounted within said casing and having a depending nose on the side adjacent to the open side of the casing, a latch member adapted to be projected through the opening in thecasing and'to engage the nose of the locking head,-the latch member coacting with the nose in the manner of a cam thereby to vlift the locking head as the latch member enters the casing thehead dropping by gravity to vdispose the nose on the rear side of the latch member, electrically operated means for elevating the locking head wherei by to release said latch and a manually opertrically operated means. f

able latch for rendering said locking means ineffective, and meansassociated with said latch for breaking the circuit to said elec- 2. A lock of the character described comprising a casing having an opening therein, f asubstantially C-shaped locking head slidably mounted within said casing adjacentsaid opening and having a depending nose' on the side corresponding to the open side of. the C-shaped locking head, a latch member adapted to be projected intosaid opening and into locking engagement with said locking head, thesaid -latch member being designed tocooperate fwith saidV nose inthe 'nature cfa cam to elevate the locking head as the latch .member enters the casing, the h eadl dropping by gravity to project said nose to the rear of the latch member, power operated means for elevating the locking head whereby to release said latch member, and a manually operable latch for holding said locking head in the elevated position independently of said power operated means, and

means associated with said latch for rendering said power operated means ineffective.

3. In a lock of the character described comprising a casing having an opening therein, a locking head reclprocably mounted within said casing, a latch member adapted to be projected-through the opening in the easing' and into locking engagement with the locking head` two power operated units acting independently of each other forV lifting the locking head whereby to release the latch member and manually operable latch means adapted to be moved to a position to hold said locking head in the elevated position independently of the said ypower units, and

`means associated with said latch means for rendering one of said power operated units ineffective.

4. A locking mechanism of the character rdescribed comprising a casing having an` opening therein, a locking head slidably mounted within said casing, a keeper adapted to be moved into interlocking engagement with said locking head, electrical means for moving said locking head tok such a position as to release said keeper, `a manually operable latch member for rendering said locky lng mechanlsm melectlve, and means associated with said latch'for breaking the circuit to said electrical means.

5. Ay locking mechanism of the `character described comprising a casing havin an opening therein, a locking head sli ably mounted within said casing, a keeper adapted to be moved into interlocking engagement with said locking head, electrical meansl for moving said locking headto such a position as to release said keeper, Huid pressure means also operableto move said locking head to such a position as to release said keepl er, and a manually operable latch member for rendering said locking mechanism ineective, and means associated with said latch for breakingthe-circuit t0 said electrical means when moved to one position.

6. A locking mechanism of the character described comprising a casing having an,

kopening therein, a locking head movably mounted within said casing, a keeper adapt-.

loo v mounted'within said casing, a keeper adapted to be moved into interlocking engagement with said locking head, a pressure operated aower unit operable to move said locking lieadcto such a position as to release the keeper, a manually operable latch for rendering said locking mechanism ineffective, said power operated unit having a vent opening therein whereby a predetermined ypressure must be appliedtheretoin. order to render said locking mechanism ineffective. In testimony whereof, we hereunto aix our signatures.

JOHN P. WARD. ROBERT E. HYDE. HARRY J. GREEN.

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